Jury Must Decide Whether Sole Survivor Of Fiery Crash Was Driving

Fatal Getaway Attempt Killed Two In 2002

One person survived a fiery June 2002 car crash in Mangonia Park that sheared bodies and metal.

Jurors must now determine whether Duane Brown was the driver in a fatal getaway or a wrongfully accused passenger who lost his leg in a crash that killed his friend and girlfriend.

Brown, 27, is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide in the deaths of Jerome Maynor, 36, and Porsha Davis, 18. He also is charged with trying to elude police in a June 29, 2002 pursuit that authorities say ended when Brown's Toyota Avalon slammed into a reinforced concrete utility pole at 104 mph. He faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

"This is a very simple case," prosecutor Ellen Roberts said in her opening statement Tuesday, urging jurors to "separate the wheat from the chaff."

Defense attorney Kristine Rosendahl said Maynor was behind the wheel when the car careened off 45th Street east of the Congress Avenue intersection, hit the pole and erupted into a fireball. She referred to a witness description of the driver as "a large-built black male with short-cropped hair," pointing out that her client was 4 inches shorter and 29 pounds lighter than Maynor at the time.

The case will likely hinge on dueling testimony from crash reconstruction experts.

The placement of bodies and limbs point to Brown as the driver, Roberts said. Both Brown and Maynor were thrown from the vehicle.

Brown was found on the ground next to the driver's-side door, the steering column and the airbag, she said.

"Mr. Maynor went much farther away," Roberts said. "Part of the reason was he didn't have his legs. He left his legs behind."

A burned left foot was found next to the pole when the car was moved, according to a medical examiner's report.

Maynor's right leg was found in the back seat, Roberts said, and a crash scene expert would testify "it was virtually impossible that Jerome Maynor was driving and left his leg in the back seat."

Rosendahl countered, "If someone is applying the brakes, our expert is going to testify that there is a huge chance their legs will remain in the car."

She also said Maynor's DNA was found on the driver's side front and passenger doors, which were sheared off in the crash. Brown's DNA was not found on either, despite his right leg being so mangled it would later be amputated, Rosendahl said.

Neither side disputes that the car took off as a West Palm Beach police officer tried to pull it over on Interstate 95. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report indicates the car's occupants "were under narcotic surveillance by agents," who coordinated the traffic stop.

Circuit Judge Jack Cook ruled Tuesday that testimony about an alleged drug deal was irrelevant to the charges Brown faces. The judge also rejected a defense argument that a statement Brown allegedly made after the crash should be barred from trial because he was impaired by medication.

Brown surrendered to police in May 2003, three days after his mug shot was broadcast on the nationally televised show America's Most Wanted.

John CotM-i can be reached at jwcote@sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-6550.